The US war in Iraq is an endless fire consuming lives, resources, and the fragile possibilities of peace. Instead of quenching this fire, the US occupation intensifies it. The Declaration of Peace is a call to end this war — and a commitment to take action to translate this call into a concrete plan for peace. With nearly seventy percent of the people of the United States opposing this war, there is a growing call to bring the troops home now and to establish a comprehensive, concrete and rapid plan to end the war. This comprehensive plan must include withdrawal of US troops; the closure of US bases in Iraq; support for a peace process in the post-occupation transition; reconstruction and reparations in Iraq; and a shift from hundreds of billions of dollars spent for war to meeting human needs at home and abroad. The Declaration of Peace is a commitment people are making across the United States to take bold, powerful and peaceful steps to help establish this comprehensive plan. Together — policy-makers and citizens; Democrats, Republicans and Independents; people of faith and people of conscience — we have the power to douse this fire. Sign The Declaration of Peace — and take tangible, nonviolent action to end this war and to declare a new era of peace and justice.

Goal of the Declaration of Peace:

A COMPREHENSIVE, CONCRETE AND RAPID PLAN TO END THE WAR

The Declaration of Peace is a commitment to take nonviolent steps for a comprehensive, concrete and rapid end to the US war in Iraq, including:

â€¢ Withdrawal of US troops and all coalition forces

â€¢ Closure of US military bases

â€¢ Support for an Iraqi-led peace process, including a peace conference to shape a post-occupation transition and an international peacekeeping presence if mandated by this peace process

â€¢ Return of Iraqi control over its oil resources and the political and economic life of the nation

â€¢ Reparations and reconstruction to address the destruction caused by the US war and thirteen years of sanctions

This comprehensive and concrete plan must be established and activated no later than September 21, 2006, and completed no later than March 19, 2007, ending four years of war and occupation in Iraq. We will take every nonviolent step possible to meet this goal before these deadlines.

The Declaration of Peace is a pledge to take nonviolent steps for the immediate withdrawal of US troops — and to engage in peaceful protest if a comprehensive, concrete, and rapid plan for an end to the US war in Iraq is not established and begun by September 21, 2006, just days before Congress adjourns for the fall elections. Between now and September we will:

â€¢ Call on the Bush administration and Congress for an end to the war. As part of this, we will call on and visit members of Congress and all candidates in the fall elections to "declare peace" by publicly pledging to support and vote for legislation that brings the troops home and cuts off funding for the war;

â€¢ Participate in activities leading up to September 21, including marches, vigils, and nationally coordinated phone-ins and email campaigns;

â€¢ Prepare for September by participating in public Declaration signings, organizing Declaration-inspired events, and attending nonviolence trainings that will be scheduled across the United States.

If the September 21 deadline is not met, Declaration signers will engage in peaceful action in Washington, DC and at Congressional offices and other sites throughout the nation from September 21-28. These activities will include marches, rallies, vigils, demonstrations and other creative expressions "declaring peace." In the spirit of Mohandas Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, some signers will be led by conscience to engage in nonviolent civil disobedience and risk arrest as a way to signify their principled opposition to the US war in Iraq. Nationally coordinated nonviolent activities will continue on a regular basis until the United States withdraws from Iraq.